Wednesday, November 08, 2006

A free-agent market thin on five-tool players could grow stronger if Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew opts out of his contract. Drew, who turns 31 on Nov. 20, must decide by Friday whether to void the final three years and $33 million on his current deal.

While Drew seems content with the Dodgers, his agent, Scott Boras, generally prefers his clients to determine their values on the open market. Drew compares favorably to the top free-agent hitters; he's a more proven defender than Alfonso Soriano, a more established hitter than Gary Matthews Jr. and a better all-around player than Carlos Lee.

A year ago I would have given the world for Drew to opt out of his contract. But now, because we already have enough holes to fill, I'm hoping he won't. If .283/.393/.498 with 20-100 doesn't seem worth $11,400,000 right now, it might after this off-season.

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Granted we are also lulled into loving JD due to his career high in games played this past season. I'm with you, though--we'll be lucky to get one star from the Kemp/Repko/Ethier trifecta, so I would want to keep Drew in right field for 2007.